Will Man Utd Face Points Deduction For Pitch Invasion?
English football was thrown into turmoil only a fortnight ago when the European Super League was announced, to universal dismay and anger from the Government, the FA, Uefa, the Premier League and fans from all twenty Premier League sides. Manchester United, one of the six English clubs to sign up to the new competition, swiftly backed down when the extent of the opprobrium became all too apparent. But the debacle fuelled the ire of United’s fans, many of whom have been feeling increasingly angry and resentful of the American owners of the club, the Glazer family. Peaceful protest at Old Trafford on Sunday turned into violent scenes as a breakaway rabble broke into the stadium causing mayhem, injuring police officers and forcing the cancellation of the Manchester United vs Liverpool fixture.
Rivals Manchester City top the Premier League table with 80 points and, had Liverpool won the match at Old Trafford, City would have officially won the League at the weekend. The Reds are currently second to rivals Manchester City, with 67 points. Leicester City lie third with 63, then Chelsea with 61 and Tottenham Hotspur with 56. If the Football Association decides to penalise Manchester United for the abandonment of the match, there is a real chance that the team will drop out of the top four, losing the opportunity for automatic qualification for the lucrative and prestigious Champions League next season.
The FA and the Premier League are currently investigating Sunday’s protests at the players’ hotel and Old Trafford, in conjunction with the two clubs, the police and the local authority. Under Premier League rules, points can be deducted where a club fails to ensure the safety of players and staff, or fails to secure the physical entry and exit from the ground.
The FA have released a statement that strongly criticises the Super League and places the Man United protest in context, saying “The fans have played a vital and impactful role in helping to stop the European Super League from happening, and we understand their frustrations. However, we cannot condone the violent and criminal behaviour that took place before the scheduled Manchester United vs Liverpool match, which The FA is now investigating.”
Even if points are deducted as a result of the match cancellation, the Reds could still qualify as they remain in the running to win the Europa League. Manchester United play Roma on Thursday and, having won the first leg in great style, with the impressive result of 6-2, manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer should be confident that his team will progress to the final when they will play either Arsenal or Villarreal. The winner of the Europa League gains automatic entry to the Champions League next season.
But the bookmakers remain convinced that Manchester United will not need to rely on the Europa League route to enter the Champions League, and that the club will not be unduly penalised by the FA. Bookie Wiliam Hill offers odds of 1/1000 that United will finish in the top four this season.
In the longer term, the position of the owners of Manchester United is becoming increasingly untenable and Man United legend, Gary Neville, spoke on behalf of many when he made the following comments during the SkySport coverage of the aborted fixture with Liverpool:
“This is a consequence of the Manchester United owners’ actions two weeks ago. There is a general distrust and dislike of the owners, but they weren’t protesting two or three weeks ago. The Glazer family are struggling to meet the financial requirements at this club and the fans are saying that their time is up. My view is quite simply that they’re going to make a fortune if they sell the club and if they were to put it up for sale now I think the time would be right, and it would be the honourable thing to do”.
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